Chapter 4 - The Distillation
Julian Vance stood up. He buttoned his suit jacket, his expression carrying the absolute, predatory coldness of a man who dealt in billions, not feelings.
"Certainly, Marina," Julian said, his voice cutting through the damp air of the winter garden.
Ethan’s brow furrowed in confusion. "Julian? What is she talking about?"
"Mr. Cole," Julian addressed Ethan with ultimate indifference. "Northstar Luxury Partners has spent the last three months conducting due diligence on Aurelian Fragrance. During that process, we discovered that Aurelian does not, in fact, own the chemical patents for its top-selling lines."
Brooke gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.
Ethan physically recoiled. "That's impossible. Marina licensed them to the company!"
"I licensed them," I agreed, walking back toward my suitcase. "With a standard creator's revocation clause. A clause I triggered from my hotel room in Paris four hours ago when I checked the security cameras in my own home and saw you moving Brooke's clothes into my bedroom."
Ethan looked like a man who had just watched the sky collapse. "No... no, the acquisition..."
"The acquisition is moving forward," Julian Vance clarified, pulling a sleek black folder from his briefcase. "But not with Aurelian. Northstar has just acquired Solis Labs—Marina’s independent holding company—for one hundred and twenty million dollars. We have zero interest in your marketing firm, Mr. Cole. We only wanted the genius who made the product."
"As for the document on that screen," Julian added, pulling out his phone. "Submitting a forged IP assignment to a private equity firm during an active valuation is a Class C felony. My legal team has already forwarded the physical document you provided us to the SEC and the district attorney."
The silence in the glass house was absolute.
Ethan dropped to his knees, his hands grasping at the air as the reality of federal prison and total financial ruin crushed the breath from his lungs. "Marina, please! It was a mistake! She meant nothing!"
Brooke let out a choked sob, realizing she had just traded her best friend for a bankrupt felon. She reached for Ethan, but he violently shoved her hand away.
I picked up the handle of my suitcase.
May you like
"Keep the emerald, Brooke," I said softly, looking at the two of them trapped beneath the glowing projector screen of their own destruction. "You're going to need something to pawn for your legal fees."
I turned my back on the ruins of my marriage and walked out into the cool, clean rain, leaving them to suffocate in the scent of their own betrayal.
